Rhymetime
by Pan Tech
Summary: Yuffie challenges Reeve to rhyming competition that quickly turns into a Dr. Seuss tragedy before completely crashing and burning.


Thank you again, MysticSpiritus for giving it the once over.

Disclaimer:: I own nothing, not even a car.

Rhymetime

It was at this time- as Reeve watched Yuffie oh-so gracefully do a perfect 10 point, gymnastic-like back flip from behind Tifa's bar counter to the center of the empty pub did he realize something.

Yuffie was very agile.

As stupid as it may sound even after all the years of traveling with the Ninja and witnessing (Both through his eyes and Cait Sith's.) her athletic prowess it didn't dawn on him until now that his little ninja friend was in a way akin to a petite, delicate little gymnastic.

He wish he could have watched that back flip in slow motion. He had a sneaking suspicion that Yuffie was double jointed along with being able to bend her back bone into an amazing C like contortion.

As Yuffie straightened her body up and glanced over at an almost drooling Reeve, he realized it was a good thing they were the only two present less some poor hapless soul slip on his drool puddle.

Yuffie giggled knowingly. Reeve shook it off and continued to drink his coffee.

Normally when Reeve enjoyed his nice brew of coffee in Seventh Heaven Yuffie would tease him about his choice of drink in an alcoholic joint no less. She would insinuate he was addicted to coffee, even loved it and occasionally imply that he did unthinkable things to coffee cans at his home. Ew.

But not today. Today, instead of teasing him about his unhealthy obsession with coffee (Or finishing wiping of the counter and stools. You know, the thing she was supposed to be doing.) She stared at him, hands on her hips and sly smile.

She wouldn't stop staring at him with those big brown eyes until he commented. Until he commented on her excellent Ninja flexibility, of course.

Drumming on the newly, partially cleaned bar he awkwardly gave her what she wanted. "Yuffie, I didn't know..." he looked at his coffee, having to pause and think of a good way to word this without getting slapped in the face or forever haunted by ill chosen words.

Luckily his words didn't come out that way. They just came out dumb. "That you were limber like a cat," very dumb.

Yuffie snorted no doubt thinking leave it to Reeve: Robotic Kitty Man, to compare her to a feline. Still she didn't seem offended by the comparison. "What makes you say that?"

This time Reeve snorted at Yuffie's unintentional rhyme. He was more than a little surprised that she didn't start jumping jumping for joy chanting, 'I'm a poet and didn't even know it!' It just seemed like a Yuffie thing to do.

Shrugging, "Well from the way you did you little trick over there it seems like a fact," there it was again. That unintentional rhyme. He winced, she giggled.

He artfully glanced over at Yuffie who had suddenly abandoned her dirty wash cloth and was no skipping merrily over to his stool located at the end of the bar counter. He knew what was coming and it was all his fault. He silently prepared himself for the unstoppable dive into a real world Dr. Seuss book.

"Yep, it is a fact, Jack!"

"Yuffie, my name's not Jack," he corrected in his deadpan voice. She swiftly punched him in his chest.

"Play the game Reeve!" She demanded in that whiny, high pitched voice he just knew she used on Godo to get her way. But Reeve, thank goodness, was not her father (If he was he'd have her put on less revealing clothes and stop showcasing her litheness to lonely, middle aged men who enjoyed playin-er working with robots.) and no amount of commands or idle threats would make him play such an infantile game.

"What's the matter Reevie-poo? Afraid Mr. Brainiac Nerd Man can't out word Ms. Awesomeness?"

Sitting his now cold cup of coffee down he sighed. He should have explained to her that: no he wasn't afraid of her beating him and two: that his name wasn't Mr. Brainiac-something and hers sure as hell was Ms. Awesomeness.

That it was he should have done.

Instead, Reeve, always a sucker for any kind of competition (Especially if someone like Yuffie paraded it off to be an intelligence thing) he begin to recall what words they were trying to rhyme.

Seeing his resolve, she squealed. She had one yet again.

"I would have laughed if you had fell on your back," it had taken Reeve awhile to get that out. As intelligent as the leader of World Regenesis Organization in his defense he hadn't played this sort of game sense grade school.

Yuffie took a seat on the stool beside Reeve and began twirling around in thought. If that had been Reeve going around in fast circles like that he was pretty sure he'd be vomiting.

Suddenly stopping her chair (Which cased her eyes to roll comically.) she pointed at Reeve with conviction and nearly shouted. "I like yaks!"

"That doesn't make any sense-"

"Epepep," Yuffie silenced him. "The only rule in this game is you have to rhyme!"

He shrugged slightly irritated but continued, "I always thought Rufus was a complete political hack."

"I always thought his middle name was Freddie Mac."

Reeve rolled his eyes. Yuffie giggled. No- she more snorted.

No, Reeve finally decided. It was a gigglesnort

"No, but he has a car that's ivory black."

"I like to eat yolk sacs!"

Reeve fought down the urge to heave. Yuffie never stoppled gigglesnorting.

"Shouldn't you be over there?" Reeve gestured towards the still dirty dishes. A chore Tifa hadn't assigned to Yuffie per say but would undoubtedly adore her for completing it. "You know, at the dish rack?"

Yuffie smiled in triumph as she shook her head violently. "Nope! You loose! You used more than one sentence!"

"But you said the only rule was-"

"I say a lot of things," Yuffie interrupted nonchalantly crossing her arms in and wearing a proud expression. As silly as this whole thing was, Reeve couldn't help but feel upset at the fact Yuffie would now go around telling everyone she had bet him at a game. No doubt Yuffie would change a few facts around so by the time the news got back to him it would be 'Yuffie beat Reeve at a knowledge game of Quantum Physics.'

"Fine." Yuffie sighed theatrically. "Because I'm such a wonderful person I'll give you one more shot. Got it?"

Reeve nodded his head, suddenly and oddly excited to be back in the game. Perhaps Yuffie was truly starting to effect his brain?

"What were we rhyming?"

Yuffie shrugged her tiny shoulders not all that sure herself. "I think dish rack."

Nodding, he knew what his next rhyme would. "And your eyes are most stunning coal black."

Yuffie blushed fiercely. Suddenly the lighthearted room filled with an air of unspoken tension. Reeve immediately regretted his words. He'd always thought Yuffie had the most alluring, expressive eyes but never had the courage to say so. He thought this dumb game (That he was secretly enjoying) would give him the perfect excuse. The embarrassed Yuffie before him told him like so many other times he was wrong.

"Reeve?" Her hesitant voice quietly cut through the tension.

"Hm?"

"My eyes aren't black they're brown."

He turned to look at her with disbelief. His uneasiness replaced by confusion. "No they aren't." At the time he didn't think much of telling Yuffie what color her eyes were.

Crossing her arms she frowned and insisted, "No, they aren't."

"Yes they are."

"No, they aren't," Reeve was no trying to reexamine Yuffie's eyes from his seat. He nodded his head with satisfaction. "I've spent nearly five years looking at your eyes, I think I know what color they are."

"They're my eyes, idiot! I think I know what color my own eyes are!"

"Obviously, you don't."

This childish bickering went back and forth for some time and was still going when Tifa and Cloud walked in both with a bag full of groceries.

Surprisingly the seen they walked in on didn't cause Tifa to drop any of her items.

Still seated side by side but now facing one another, Yuffie was leaning over in Reeve's lap with one of her eyes uncomfortably pried open by two of Reeve's fingers. Reeve was wearing his reading glasses as he studied her pupil.

Neither seemed aware of the two person audience they had gained.

"Yuffie,"

"Yes?"

"You are insane. Your eyes are black as night."

"NO, they AREN'T!" Yuffie screamed indigenously springing to her feet for yet another heated round.

Quietly, as to not to disturb them, Tifa sat the grocery bags down before grabbing Cloud by the color of his jacket and leading him outside.

Feeling a terrible headache coming on Reeve stopped and messaged his temples trying to find some relief. "Remind me something, Yuffie, in the future will you?"

Seeming to have lost some of her fight she asked meekly, "What?"

"To, no matter what on Gaia miraculous, dirty thought inducing things you do with your body never to comment on them again as they only lead to bad Dr. Seuss ripoffs and the eventual migraine inducing eye pigmentation argument."

A tired Yuffie sedately agreed.

"Reeve, for the record I can do a lot more nimble things than that." She teased. He groaned more than ready to head home and not see Yuffie for another two days until work. "...And..." She continued. "My eyes are like, totally brown. Dumbass."

Author's Note: As always constructive critisim is more than welcome. Thank you for reading.


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